Zlatan Ibrahimovic has admitted that he told current Manchester United centre-back Victor Lindelof to become “less friendly” in order to succeed at the club.
Lindelof is currently enjoying life under new club caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with the Red Devils aiming to get back into the top four places of the Premier League.
Is Lindelof finally living up to the hype at Man Utd? Five things to know…
- Manchester United signed Victor Lindelof from Benfica for a transfer fee of €35 million in 2017.
- Ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said Lindelof looked “out of his depth” after his first two seasons at Man Utd.
- But this season Lindelof has started more Premier League games than any United defender (20)…
- …and has been (jokingly, you assume) likened to modern greats Nesta and Cannavaro.
- Fellow Swede Ibrahimovic played alongside Lindelof at Old Trafford before his departure to MLS side LA Galaxy.
In an in-depth interview regarding Lindelof’s progression as a Manchester United defender, Ibrahimovic discussed in great detail about how when Lindelof arrived in England, he was more concerned about being friendly than by succeeding at the club.
Ibrahimovic said: “I think he has more confidence now when he plays. He has filled up the responsibility he needs to have and that is given to him and I think he had a difficult time in the beginning.
“I was there also. I think that it is typical Swedish when you come somewhere and you’re friendly to everybody. You play, you don’t play, still you feel it as a friendly situation.
“But I explained to him ‘listen, all these players here, they’re conquerors. You’re here to survive, you are not here to be friendly to everybody. So you need to perform. If you don’t perform, the club has no problem with selling, it comes and goes.’
“That’s the way it is.
“I think that he has been doing good lately, he’s playing much more. After the first year of struggling, hopefully, he can continue and be strong mentally because I don’t think it’s a question about the quality, it’s more in the head.
“I’ve always said, 50% is in your head. It doesn’t matter how good you are, if you cannot make it mentally, you will not survive, because to be on top is something else.
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“He is the only one playing for a big club”
Lindelof has seen his form for Manchester United solidify his place in the Swedish national side.
After making his international debut in 2016, the United defender has made 29 appearances for his country to date including four outings at last year’s Fifa World Cup, where Sweden were eventually knocked out in the quarter-finals by England.
Ibrahimovic believes Lindelof’s training and attitude will be key for him to succeed on both a domestic and international level, much like Ibrahimovic has throughout his career.
He said: “And in the national team, he is the only one who is playing in a big club so he gets to feel what it is all about.
“That is what I’ve been through for 20 years, not normal clubs but top five clubs from my six or seven clubs.
“So it’s not an easy world but he’s starting to feel it, he starts to understand what it is all about. So maybe when he comes to the national team, he will understand how when I came home, the pressure I gave.
“Hopefully, he can continue. Focus and train like he does because he trains really well and he is professional.”
The post Victor Lindelof told to “be less friendly” to survive Man Utd appeared first on Squawka News.
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